The message of the Kingdom of God has become a most neglected theme in the church. This is partly because we have defined the gospel in ways that have nothing to do with the Kingdom of God; in the NT, gospel had everything to do with the Kingdom, God ruling among men. The proclamation of the arrival of the Kingdom was the good news that we call gospel. It has arrived in the first advent and will be fully established in the second advent. In between that, Kingdom citizens work to advance it and pray that it will come in all of their thoughts, words, actions and reactions. We are to experience and live the Kingdom now in this time and space. We are to begin to live the coming tomorrow in this very day.
Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” Mark 1:14-15 (NLT)
